Use S-Log for Fireworks?

[Chadfish]

Hey all,

I got collared last minute to shot some fireworks with the FS5 for a Netflix doc. I'm there to shoot drone video, but I'm also picking up some shots of silhouettes of people watching the fireworks. Just curious if log would be acceptable, or if my instinct to shoot in a normal PP, since log is for bright conditions. Surprisingly, there is scant info about this on line. On one hand it's low light, on the other the fireworks are bright. I have to leave in 2 hrs, can anyone authoritatively share their knowledge? I have seen that daylight WB is the way to go at least.

I just have one shot at this, and my concentration is somewhat split at the time of filming.

Thanks!

[Doug Jensen]

Definately S-LOG. I wouldn't ever do fireworks again with anything but S-LOG2. And don't believe the hogwash that S-LOG is only for bright conditions, it is for all conditions . . . and by the way fireworks is bright conditions.

[Chadfish]

Thanks Doug! I was hoping you'd come through. I have it on PP7 (s-Log2) and the Sigma 24-105 with a speed booster to get me toF2.8. I also have a canon 35mm f2 that gets to f1.4 with the speed booster.

Anyway, thanks again. One less thing to think about now.

[Doug Jensen]

Glad to help, but be careful about those fast lenses because they really aren't necessary for fireworks. Yeah, it's at night, but the fireworks themselves are very very bright so don't blow them out or you won't be able to recover colors and detail in post. Don't let the dark sky fool you.

[OnSet]

The tricky part is getting lined up properly to see the silhouettes of the people in the foreground. Or even trickier, to turn around and see the light of the fireworks illuminating their faces!

[SJX]

Definately S-LOG. I wouldn't ever do fireworks again with anything but S-LOG2. And don't believe the hogwash that S-LOG is only for bright conditions, it is for all conditions . . . and by the way fireworks is bright conditions.

Yes I think is hogwash too. I shoot everything in slog.

[JRJphoto]

I shoot everything in Slog3 with cine gamut, except for the occasional quick-turnaround news stuff when I go Rec709 with a Hypergamma. Fireworks are very bright and very colorful. With proper exposure, fireworks will look great shot in Slog and appropriately graded.

[Imamacuser]

In my limited experience shooting fireworks with DSLRs and Mirrorless cameras, fireworks only blowout the highlights during the grand finale when shooting with the neutral picture profile.

[Doug Jensen]

If you're shooting with manual exposure it shouldn't make any difference if there is one firework or a dozen going off simultaneously in the grand finale because the light you are exposing is coming from fire and not from reflected light. Look at it this way, if you are trying to capture the flame of a candle (not whatever the candle is illuminating) the exposure for one candle flame is exactly the same exposure as if there were 10 candles lined up in a row.

I use S-LOG2 because it has 13 IRE more headroom than S-LOG3 before the brightest highlights will clip.